On a Great Start for British Film Making with Locke

There is a scene in Steven Knight’s Locke where the eponymous protagonist is asked if he has seen Samuel Beckett’s 1940s absurdist play, Waiting for Godot. It is clear he has not and the caller reminds him, he is not a theatre goer. Like Beckett’s Vladimir and Estragon Locke finds himself enthralled in a mental anguish that he cannot escape, and like the play, Knight’s Locke is so stripped down that viewers will bring to it their own interpretations and anxieties to find a meaning.

Locke is quite literally a slice of life. An almost real time real world problem unfolding over the phone as Locke drives to the birth of his child that has come about as a result of an affair. On top of this personal crisis, he must also fix a developing professional crisis regarding concrete, that has arisen as a result of his drive to the hospital. This is an experimental, gripping film with a simple narrative and it makes another mark in 2014 for British cinema that is exploring and playing with the rules of cinema.

From 12 Years a Slave at the start of the year to the more recent The Double and Starred Up, British filmmakers are telling great stories in unconventional, yet captivating styles. This may be a response to the growing domination of big budget films, the season for which seems to be growing every year. The continued success of these films (many of which are repetitive, thematically and stylistically) results in less financial input for riskier films that can’t guarantee large audiences. The inventiveness of these recent British films display a resolute response to such growing uniformity in cinemas; not just great narratives, not just challenging for audiences, but with style and experimentation too.

Locke is perhaps the most inventive, and as gripping as it is, it doesn’t manage to be quite as complete as Slave, The Double or Starred Up. This is not to detract from the skill on display and the remarkable performance from the voice actors, but mostly from Tom Hardy who disappears into this slice of life. The reference to Godot offers a brief clue as to Knight’s inspiration, but importantly not too much. It is part of Locke’s achievement that any readings differ with each viewer. More of the same, please.